Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Deficiency Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment Benefits

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 January 2024

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, we’re going to take a look at vitamin B1, also known as thiamine. Vitamin B1 is intimately involved with the function of the mitochondria, so if you’re deficient, low energy is one of the first symptoms.

The more carbs and sugar you consume, the more B1 you need. This is because vitamin B1 is necessary to burn glucose.

Even on a ketogenic diet, you'll still burn glucose for certain functions of the body. Vitamin B1 is water soluble, so it isn't stored in the body for long periods. This makes it easier to become deficient.

B1 is also important for the myelin sheath—the coating on your nerves. B1 is crucial for the proper function of the autonomic nervous system and specifically affects the vagus nerve.

The following conditions and symptoms are related to a deficiency in vitamin B1:

•Gastroparesis (slow digestive system)

•GERD

•Peripheral neuropathy

•Regurgitation of bile

•Excessive sweating or no sweating at all

•Excessive tears or no tears at all

•Dizziness when standing up

•Irritability

•Low tolerance for stress

•Trouble regulating body temperature

•Increased pulse rate

If you have a more severe B1 deficiency, you might experience the following:

•Enlarged heart

•Edema

•Confusion

•Memory loss

•Nystagmus

•Ataxia

•Hearing loss

•Sleep apnea

•Trouble breathing

Avoid synthetic B1, which is sometimes made with hydrochloric acid, acetone, ammonia, and coal tar. Allithiamine and benfotiamine are the two best options for vitamin B1 supplements.

Drugs can also affect the absorption of vitamin B1. Metformin, diuretics, and certain antibiotics can lead to vitamin B1 deficiency. Low magnesium can affect vitamin B1 absorption as well.

Download the Summary of ALL the Functions of Vitamin B1: https://drbrg.co/3tGUuu0

Transcript

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0:00.0	I would say out of all the vitamins that I have worked with in practice, B1 is at the top of the list as far as creating effects.
0:08.6	There are many different other vitamins or nutrients that you take, you don't really feel much change at least initially
0:15.4	but B1 is different you usually see pretty quick changes for a lot of different
0:19.8	effects and that's what I want to get into today, as well as talking about some of the warning signs and how you would end up with a B1 deficiency in the first place.
0:29.0	B1 is intimately involved as kind of a helper nutrient for your mitochondria, the energy factory in the cell.
0:39.0	And so if you're deficient, you're going to have a hard time making fuel.
0:42.0	You're going to be tired, okay? That's a big symptom right there. And relating to that fuel in the mitochondria, you need it to burn glucose. The more glucose that you have running through your bloodstream,
0:56.3	the higher the carbohydrates in the diet, the more B1 you're going to need or you are going
1:00.9	to run out a B1 really fast because it's needed to metabolize this fuel.
1:06.5	And when you run out, you can't burn that fuel.
1:08.8	You're going to be tired.
1:09.8	Now what I mean by burning off glucose, I'm talking about like even using your own
1:14.3	stored glucose as glycogen in your liver. So even if you're on the ketogenic
1:19.3	diet, you do still burn glucose to a certain degree.
1:24.0	It's not just completely 100% fat burning or ketones.
1:28.0	Certain cells, certain parts of your body need glucose.
1:31.0	And so there is a different levels of different types of
1:34.4	fuels that you'll use at any given time. So B1 is water-ciable which means it
1:40.0	doesn't get stored in the body for a long time like the fat cycle vitamins like
1:43.4	vitamin A, D, E, and K. So if you're doing fasting, right? And let's say for example
1:49.7	you're under a lot of stress and you're drinking tea, all of these things can deplete B1.
1:55.7	And even if you have inflammation, you can use that more B1.
	...

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